Skunked - A McRoll in the REAL World Story
by Mari217
Summary: An unexpected visitor leaves a lasting impression on Steve and Catherine


_#REALMcRollers, readers, guests: Thank you doesn't seem enough. Your love and support of the REAL World is overwhelming. We are forever grateful. Thank you so much!_

_Sammy & Ilna, you ladies are the best. Best team members, best cheering section and best writers I could ever hope to work with. And to top it off your friendship and support as well as the never-ending joy and laughter you've brought into my life as made every day richer and happier. Xoxox Mari_

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><p><span><strong>Skunked<strong>

**McGarrett/Rollins Residence  
>10:45 p.m. <strong>

It had been a _very_ long four days with _very_ little sleep for the team. Steve and Catherine had spent their first night of downtime since closing a grueling case swimming with Cammie and relaxing. Too tired to even make dinner, they'd gotten takeout on their way home and eaten out of the containers in the living room.

Finally, they stood on the lanai as Cammie took a last potty break of the night. It was calm and breezy so they lingered, arms draped loosely around each other, watching Cammie explore a bit.

Suddenly, the dog's entire body tensed.

Before "What does she see?" left Catherine's lips, Cammie bolted for the edge of their property at a stealthy run.

Steve and Catherine took off towards the wooded area bordering the yard after their dog.

They spotted the skunk lumbering in the bushes at the same time.

Calling on what they'd learned in dog training, and practiced often, Steve and Catherine called out, "Cammie, WAIT!" simultaneously.

She stopped on a dime. Never taking her eyes off the furry intruder, a whine left Cammie as her humans reached her side.

Catherine said "Leave it." just as the skunk turned its back on the trio.

Knowing what was about to happen, Steve instinctively reached for Cammie and scooped her up out of the skunk's range.

Which spared the startled dog getting sprayed in the face.

It didn't, however, stop the spray from hitting Steve's legs.

And Catherine's.

The skunk skittered off under the bushes as Steve put Cammie down.

She immediately backed away, an astonished look on her furry face as both her humans gasped for air.

"Oh! Oh, my _God_!" Catherine said as she raised a hand to cover her nose. When that didn't help, she lifted the hem of her tank top and covered the bottom of her face, breathing through her mouth. "God!" she repeated, "that's _horrible_." She coughed and wiped her eyes.

Steve copied her actions. He removed his T-shirt, covering his nose and mouth with the material. "Holy crap, that's as bad as tear gas." He confirmed and Catherine nodded.

Glancing down at her sleep pants that were damp below the knees, Catherine removed them before too much of the spray could sink into her skin. Dropping them on the sand, she said, "I'll get a plastic bag later."

Steve wasn't quite as fortunate, he was wearing shorts. The spray had hit his bare legs. "Come on Cammie, let's get you inside. Catherine and I need to shower right now."

As the three stepped onto the lanai, Catherine stopped Steve with a hand on his arm. "Wait, we can't go inside like this. We'll stink up the whole house."

"We need to mix a peroxide paste to get the stench off; we're going to have to go inside to get what we need." Steve noted.

Just then, Catherine's phone rang. She grabbed it from where she'd left it on the lanai table.

"Esther, hi." Esther called every few days to confirm her schedule, and Catherine couldn't help grin a bit at their predicament. "We just had a little skunk incident. No, she's fine, it's me and Steve.

That's right, Cammie did a beautiful 'wait' but the skunk was so close ... and we were right behind her. Steve just instinctively picked her up…" She smiled at Steve. "He'd saved Cammie from getting sprayed in the face and eyes."

"No, we're still outside … Steve said a peroxide paste. Good, thanks." She grinned because Steve knew how to de-skunk a human. Of course he did. "We _really_ stink, Esther, and I'm standing outside in my underwear because I had to ditch my pajama bottoms, so I'm going to cut you short, but we definitely need you for your regular schedule Monday through Wednesday this week. Thanks. Will do." Catherine ended the call and turned to Steve. "Esther said 'nice job' saving Cammie from a bad situation."

"Thanks," He looked at Cammie who was still standing a few feet away. "So … we need a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and a little dish soap." Steve rattled off a formula he'd clearly learned somewhere in his training or experience.

"I've got less on my skin so I'll run into the downstairs bathroom and kitchen. C'mon Cammie, you wait inside …" Catherine opened the lanai door and Cammie darted past her pungent smelling humans and straight into the living room.

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><p>Less than fifteen minutes after Catherine's dash inside, she and Steve were scrubbing themselves for the second time with the peroxide mixture and rinsing under the hose.<p>

"I think we're good." Steve shut the water with a nod and picked up the slightly damp towel they'd left over a chair after rinsing Cammie a few hours earlier.

"Here." He handed it to Catherine, who dried off as best she could and passed it back. "I think we're okay to go inside.

"And shower with real soap?" Catherine shook her head, but her expression was amused. They'd been far dirtier for far longer, but the smell was really quite horrid.

"What, you didn't enjoy showering al fresco with me, Rollins?" Steve pretended to look hurt.

"Ya, know … gotta say, not our most exciting turn with soap and water, Commander." She chuckled and leaned up to pat his cheek as a smirk crossed his face. "I'm ditching this towel, too." She added it to the sleep pants she'd retrieved and tossed into the garbage bag she'd grabbed on her run into the house.

They ducked inside and padded straight upstairs, where Catherine started the shower with decidedly warm water while Steve pulled two older towels out of the linen closet.

By the time he entered their bathroom, Catherine was stepping out of the stall. She took the offered towel and wrapped it around her body. "Thanks. Go ahead."

They traded places, and as Steve got under the spray, Cammie poked her nose into the room, investigating. "Hey, Sweetie, do we smell better?" Catherine smiled and went to drop a kiss on the dog's nose. "You were _very_ good." She hugged Cammie, and the dog followed when she straightened and moved to the bedroom. "Good job listening, Pretty Girl." She said over her shoulder as she tossed the towel in the hamper and pulled an oversized T-shirt for herself and a pair of sleep shorts for Steve out of the dresser.

Steve came out of the bathroom and dropped his towel on top of Catherine's in the hamper. "At least we had the stuff for the spray removal." He said as he grabbed the shorts off his side of the bed and pulled them on.

Catherine shook her head and pulled her damp hair into a pony tail. "And no one walked into the yard to see us huddled next to the doorway showering with the hose." She grinned.

"Exactly."

They laughed tiredly and crawled into bed.

As Steve shifted to get comfortable, Catherine took a bottle of lotion out of her night table and began to apply it to her legs. After two scrub downs and two hot showers, her fair skin was decidedly pink.

It had turned into a long night after a long four days.

She capped and replaced the bottle.

Settled against Steve with a sigh.

Closed her eyes.

And …

Sniffed.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?" He answered without opening his eyes.

"I still … smell it." Catherine turned, rose up on an elbow and sniffed the air again. "Do you?"

"Little bit, yeah."

"Oh, God." She flopped back down. "Do we _still_ smell? Should we shower again?" Her voice was weary.

"We showered four times, Cath, I think we're good."

"I know, and my skin's ready to peel off. But, should we sleep in bed?"

"As opposed to?" Steve rolled to his side to look at her, and grinned.

"The blow up? If the smell seeps back out of our pores, I don't want to get it on the sheets … or worse, into the mattress."

"C'mere." Steve crooked his fingers and she closed the inches between them. He sniffed her neck, making her laugh and raise her shoulder. "You smell pretty good to me." He kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, well, the skunk didn't spray my neck."

"I don't think it's us." Steve sighed. "I mean it's _us_, but I think it's in our nasal passages. Not on our skin."

"You think? 'Cause I can't tell." Her nose wrinkled.

Steve nodded. "Yeah. It's definitely not you. Your pants took most of the hit; I'm the one he got on the bare skin." He threw back the covers. "C'mon."

"Damn, another shower?"

"No. Got an idea that may help. Trust me?" Steve crossed to the bathroom with Catherine close behind. Her immediate and unwavering, "Always" brought a smile to his face.

He reached into their bathroom closet and pulled out a first aid kit suitable in size for an EMT or combat medic. Steve took out distilled water and an irrigation bottle used for flushing inhaled impurities and dust. "Here you go."

Catherine smirked, "Awww such a sexy gift, and I didn't get you anything …" But she took them happily, relieved to not take a fifth shower.

"You'll just have to share. And I'll get to sleep in our own bed." He chuckled. "Present enough. Besides …"

As she finished with the bottle and took a deep breath, she smiled. "God, that's better. Smell's gone."

Steve grinned at her. "Can we go back to bed now?"

"Definitely. Hey …" She looked at him as they crossed the room. "Besides what?"

Steve smirked. "You looked pretty cute showering with peroxide paste under the hose."

"Did I now?" She grinned.

They'd reached the bed and crawled in, settling beside each other.

Steve's expression was tired but playful. "I've taken a lot of decontamination showers. You are _definitely_ the best thing I've ever looked at while taking one."

"Sometimes you say awfully sweet things, Commander." She leaned over to kiss him. "And for the record?" Catherine switched off the light before she nuzzled against his skin, took another deep breath and smiled. "Right back at ya, McGarrett."

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><p><em>End. Thanks for reading.<em>


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